Rotation.org's Teacher Training Presentation

This free presentation can be VIEWED ONLINE, OR you can DOWNLOAD IT and watch it from your computer, OR freely copy it to CD for distribution to your teachers, -or to show at your next training event or seminar. View download instructions. It's free because of the faithful support of the friends of Rotation.org

The presentation features "Dave the Trainer" and "Roiy" (Roh-ee) the Shepherd talking to your leaders and teachers about:

  • how to organize a great training event

  • why teacher training is important

  • how different teachers prepare their rotation lessons

  • and sharing some creative insights about how to teach in the Rotation Model

The presentation gives you complete navigational control to select content, and contains numerous pop-up questions for discussion --should you wish to use it in a group setting. The presentation was created in Flash. To view it online or on CD, you will need to have the latest (free)  Adobe.com Flash Player plug-in for your web browser.  

When viewing online, "loading" times for each part of the presentation will vary depending on internet speed and your computer.

Download instructions: (Windows only right now, a Mac version will appear here soon. The online version works in both Windows and Mac)

training_cd.zip is a 24mb file. It should download in under 2 minutes on a fast connection.

For advanced users:

  1. Download the training_cd.zip file to a new folder on your desktop.

  2. Extract all the files found in the downloaded zip file into that same new folder (ie, 'unzip' them).

  3. Start the presentation by double clicking the rotation.exe file in the folder. This will open the Flash training presentation in your browser. 

For everyone else:

First, you have to download the training_cd.zip file to your computer.
Then, you must unzip that file into all it's constituent files.

The presentation is composed of numerous files, all of which have been zipped (compressed together) into one downloable file. You will need to download that zip file, then unzip the it into a folder before you can view the presentation on your computer. 

**Depending on your operating system version (XP/Vista/OSX), the terminology may be a little different.

  1. First, click the download link above or here, and select SAVE.  You should now be looking at a "dialog box" asking (in effect) "where would you like to save it".  It may be suggest a default location on your computer, such as, a download folder or documents folder.  It's best to save it to a brand new folder so you can find it easily later on.
     

  2. In that file dialog box which you are now looking at, select "Create (or Make) a New Folder".  We suggest making the new folder on your desktop and naming it "training". This will make it easy to find.
     

  3. Next, with your new folder created and highlighted, begin the download into that new folder by clicking 'save' or 'ok' (depending on your operating system's wording). This should begin the download into that new folder.
     

  4. After the download is complete, you should now see the "training_cd.zip" file in that new folder you created. Depending on which operating system you have, a dialog box may be asking you to "extract" (unzip) it. That's the next step...
     

  5. Next, you must "extract" or "unzip" that zip file into its various files into that new folder. After this step you can begin to view the presentation.

    Depending on which operating system you have, this extraction/unzipping process might be worded a little different. 

    In Vista, when the file is downloaded it shows you the list of files by default and there's a "extract" link above them to click. In XP it may just show you the zip file and you must double click that zip file to unzip it, and THEN you will see a message asking you where you want to unzip it to. If your computer has a custom unzipping utility, such as Winzip, that program may appear at this point to ask you where you want to unzip the file.
     

  6. After you select unzip/extract, it will then ask you to confirm WHERE you want to unzip the presentation files.  Unzip it right into the new folder you've already created.  After it has done this, it should show you all the unzipped files. Double click "rotation.exe" to start the presentation.

To START THE DOWNLOADED PRESENTATION:
Once training_cd.zip is downloaded and unzipped, you can play the presentation on your computer by double clicking the ROTATION.EXE file in the folder. At this time you can also insert a blank CD into your CD Drive and burn all the files/folders that were unzipped, and give the CD to whomever you want.


View our other free online presentation: Introducing: the Workshop Rotation Model  This presentation is also an online "Flash" presentation which can be viewed online or downloaded and distributed. You are welcome to make as many copies as you want, and you are free to use it in any setting.


Support Rotation.org's website, our free materials,
...and our ability to create terrific "Flash" presentations like this one.

 

View our Funding Appeal Letter

View a List of contributors

Contribute to Rotation.org

Who is Rotation.org?

History of this Website

The Cost of Running this Site

Who handles the contributions?

8 Ways you can be part of Rotation.org's ministry

View the Rotation.org Mission Statement

View a Flash Presentation about the Rotation Model in your browser, or download a copy to share with others.

 Others have stepped forward in the past to make this website and presentation free for you.  
Is it your church's turn to support Rotation.org?

Please write a check payable to:
Rotation.org Inc.
and mail it to:

"Rotation Fund"
c/o Tanja Rouintree, Treasurer
428 W. Maple
Nevada, MO 64772

The average donation is about $75 to $100 per church. View a list of contributors here.

Rotation.org is a volunteer run non-profit website dedicated to supporting the Workshop Rotation Model for Christian education. We rely on church and individual donations to pay for the website, and to pay for our part-time coordinator position. Donations keep this site and all its content freely available to all.

There is no charge for using Rotation.org website content or for becoming a member of the Ideas & Lesson Exchange. This site will always be FREE to anyone who wants to use it. However, it is not free to maintain the site and continue have the professional help of our coordinators. We appreciate any help you can give. We're really not about "free lessons" --we're about "choice." Learn more about that here.



Who is Rotation.org?

Rotation.org is a group effort!  Hundreds of volunteers, educators, and pastors have collaborated to bring you this site. Begun in 1997, a volunteer Board of Directors oversees the website and finances, and manages the work of our part-time resource coordinator. Rotation.org Inc is a a 501c3 non-profit corporation.

Rotation.org Inc. Board Members: 

Jaymie Derden, Elementary Coordinator at State St. UMC in Bristol VA, Board Secretary.
Carol Hulbert, Rotation Teacher and writer at First UMC Church Ann Arbor MI, and currently our Board President.
Tanja Rouintree, CE coordinator at the Presbyterian Church in Nevada Missouri, Board Treasurer.

Rotation.org Inc. Board Members Emeritus

Neil MacQueen, Rotation.org Founder, Presbyterian minister. Rotation.org webmaster.
Julie Burton,
Director of Congregational Resources for Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery.
Anne Camp, Retired DCE, Shadyside Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh
Cindy Merten, DCE, First Presbyterian Church, Birmingham MI

Rotation.org Coordinators

Ken and Phyllis Wezeman, coordinator@rotation.org are our paid part-time coordinators and are also members of the Board.

Ken and Phyllis Wezeman are our part-time paid Resource Coordinators. Ken is a Christian educator, publisher, writer, editor and former resource center staff person. Now a Presbyterian, Ken pastored a Christian Reformed church for seven years and was on staff at the Parish Resource Center in Mishawaka Indiana. In addition to his publishing work, Ken is technology coordinator for Hope Rescue Mission in South Bend and an amateur radio operator. Phyllis Wezeman is a nationally known CE author and seminar presenter, and is herself is a Rotation educator at First Pres South Bend. We are truly blessed with their talent.

The Cost of Running this Site

When Rotation.org first began, it was all done out of the pocket of its founder. Then a few friends chipped in to help pay the web-hosting bills. As we've expanded, the webhosting bills have grown quite a bit. The servers behind our Lesson Exchange are powerful and feature amazing software. And some of the special scripting at this site is done by professional web folks. Still, the technical stuff doesn't cost as much as you would think... about $2000 a year.

Our biggest commitment of funds is to pay for our coordinators. They deal with requests for help that flood this site. They also keep the volunteer Board of Directors organized. One of our Coordinators' biggest contribution is toward the Writing Team which produces free Rotation curriculum each year. We pay our coordinators to manage the volunteer writers and professionally edit the "free" lessons. Of course, the Wezemans are professional writers and editors! So we feel we're getting a bargain.

From time to time we spend money to create content that directly benefits the users of this site. For example, the free Flash presentations were paid for out of the Fund. Rounding out our annual expenses are things like accounting and tax expenses, and expenses related to our annual board meeting.

All totaled, it takes about $18,000 a year to operate this site. In 2010, we want to raise an additional $5000 to add more free training presentations. Given the large number of people visiting this website and using its materials, we think that's incredibly reasonable amount to ask and shouldn't be hard to raise IF everyone "takes their turn" making a donation.

 Many churches put us in their annual budget because they know Rotation.org is saving them a ton of curriculum money, and because they appreciate the mission-forward aspect of what we're trying to do.


Who handles the cash?

In the summer of 2005 we incorporated and established funds under the oversight of the Board of Directors, and the management of an accounting firm that works with our Treasurer. Donations pay for the Coordinator position, site hosting and domain name services, special projects, the free flash training pieces, accounting costs, plus the occasional need to create or update our website's functionality. Until the Spring of 2005, Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh PA faithfully managed the Fund.


History of Rotation.org

www.rotation.org began in the Fall of 1997 as a means of freely distributing the original Workshop Model Manual produced by Neil MacQueen and Melissa Hansche at the Presbyterian Church of Barrington Illinois. Neil created the website and posted the manual along with a few articles and some free lesson plans. (The manual has since evolved into a book published by Presbyterian Publishing). Click here for a more detailed history of the Rotation model and movement.

As the Internet began to flourish, several of us who were contributing content to rotation.org recognized the great potential of an Internet site to inform, resource, and create connections between Rotation educators. The website was also an answer to the small avalanche of phonecalls about the Rotation Model that Neil and other churches were experiencing.

1999 saw Rotation churches contributing a ton of free lesson materials. In the summer of '99 an email newsletter and Web bulletin board were added. The "Ideas Exchange" bulletin board and Lessons Exchange are designed to explore something completely new in Christian Education: using web technology to allow educators to share with each other.

In 1999 and 2000 the site grew and grew, not only in content, but in the number of people who were using it. So in 2001, Neil and several other educators started the Rotation.org Fund so that we could afford the expanding site and make much needed improvements. At that time the Fund was accounted for by a volunteer church which held the bag for us, received contributions and paid the bills. At about that same time the Rotation.org Advisory Team was created. This is a group of 3 Rotation.org users and Christian educators who work on a consensus basis to spend the money, establish policies and practices. Membership on the Team was by the invitation of previous Team members, and terms last for two or three years. In 2002 a generous grant from 1st Pres Birmingham Michigan allowed us to add a part-time Coordinator position and update the Lesson Exchange software. Since then Rotation.org has made an annual appeal to the "Friends of Rotation.org" via email that allows us to continue the Coordinator position and maintain the website. In 2004 we were able to hire a part-time "Exchange Gardener" to help clean up the message boards and reorganize them. In 2004, over a dozen volunteer gardeners (moderators) took on "upkeep" responsibilities for various areas of the Exchange. In 2005 Rotation.org Inc. was created as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. We are now overseen by a five-member board and have a CPA firm managing the Fund and auditing the account.

In 2007 the board began planning for an ambitious series of online training "flash" presentations. These presentations can be viewed at home or church, and they are completely free to everyone thanks to the faithful donations of our contributors. The first presentation introducing the model to your volunteers appeared in 2008. In 2009 we'll release a presentation about Training Your Teachers.

Rotation.org is not only a resource, it is a radical experiment in resourcing -supported by volunteers. We are demonstrating a new way of creating curriculum and sharing resources with each other. And we continue to push the envelope.

Rotation.org is not officially affiliated with any one particular Rotation group.

Rotation.org is not connected with any publisher, denomination, and is not officially connected to "Lord and King" (aka Children's Ministries of America) -a which offers national rotation conferences. Rotation.org is not officially connected with Sunday Software Inc. whose owner (Neil MacQueen) originally created the rotation.org website and who is on the Rotation.org Board of Directors. 

There is no fee to belong to the Rotation.org community. It's open to all.

Who owns the domain name and the materials?

ALL materials at this website belong to the author(s) named with each piece. They have complete copyright control over their work and can request that it be deleted or modified at anytime. At NO time will the information gathered at this site (currently only via the email news subscriptions) be used for commercial purposes. Neil MacQueen is the domain registrant of record for www.rotation.org. In 2005, Neil transferred ownership and rights to the domain name to Rotation.org Inc and the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors approves all expenses and manages the Fund. 


8 ways you can support Rotation.org:

1. Share lesson materials by posting them in the Lesson Exchange.

2. Browse postings and add your ideas to others.

3. Join the Volunteer Writing Team.

4. Make a donation to continue to maintain and improve this website.

5. Make a larger donation to continue the ministry of our Part-time Resource Coordinator.

6. Suggest new topics, changes and additions to the Ideas Exchange message boards and the Articles database.

7. Contribute your creative Rotation photos.

8. Add your church's name and contact info to the CONTACT directory here so that others in your area can connect with you.

For more information about any of these items, email our Resource Coordinator.



Questions? Contact the Rotation.org Resource Coordinator

Question about Supporting this Website? Contact We-support@rotation.org

Click here to read the Rotation.org Mission Statement


Board of Directors:

Carol Hulbert, President
Tanja Rouintree, Treasurer
Jaymie Derden, Secretary

Ken and Phyllis Wezeman, Rotation.org Coordinators, coordinator@rotation.org

Neil MacQueen, webmaster